The Milwaukee Brewers: Brewing Up Solid Results Yet No Respect

The Milwaukee Brewers have done so much this season, yet most people do not know that (Source: Getty Images)

The Stanley Cup Finals and the NBA Finals are completed, which normally means that baseball is the only sport happening during the summer where actual games are being played. However, this year has the 2018 FIFA World Cup starting up this Thursday. Unfortunately, I am not the greatest expert when it comes to association football in any capacity, so it would be better to hear about that event from another source of information. Instead, I would rather focus on a team that is quietly a half game out of first place in the National League Central division and I say ‘quietly’ because it feels like, per usual, most of America would rather focus on the higher profile teams that we all know and hate (and sometimes love). Granted, it is still early June, but the Milwaukee Brewers have continued building from a surprising 2017 season where they finished 86-76 and six games behind the Chicago Cubs and are holding onto first place in their division.

Name recognition is critical for generating fan enthusiasm and, considering the first returns for the MLB All-Star Game, the Brewers are not excelling in that department. Amongst the offensive positions, the only Brewers who appeared were outfielders Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain, who were ranked 11th and 15th respectively in votes received. One would think that is pretty respectable for a team to have not one but two players on the list, but when Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is fifth on that list despite making his debut on April 25 and being on the disabled list since May 28. I understand that the Atlanta Braves are having an amazing season and they represented by Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies, and Nick Markakis as starters with other players not far behind, but people are riding on the Acuña Jr. hype train a little too hard and ignoring what Cain and Yelich have both done for the full season. Cain, in particular, has been the defensive catalyst for Milwaukee and has proven that all those years roaming the outfield for the Kansas City Royals was no fluke.

Jesús Aguilar has been a driving force for Milwaukee’s offense despite getting no respect from Cleveland (Source: Aaron Gash/AP)

One other element of the offense that deserves some recognition has been the reliance of emerging first baseman Jesús Aguilar. Despite hitting a combined 177 home runs during his time in the minor leagues, Aguilar played a grand total of 35 games for the Cleveland Indians from 2014 to 2016. He was waived by Cleveland and was immediately snatched up by Milwaukee and proved that he was worth the investment, hitting .265 while smacking 16 home runs and 52 RBI over the course of 133 games. Aguilar showed that he was a worthy fill-in for incumbent first baseman (and Korean baseball sensation) Eric Thames, but this season saw Thames go down with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb so Aguilar had to fill his spot again. Aguilar responded by hitting .285 (ranked by 3rd on the team behind Yelich and Cain), 11 homers (2nd behind third baseman Travis Shaw), and 37 RBI (also 2nd behind Shaw), so last season’s performance was not a one-year wonder. Even with Thames’s return from his injury yesterday, the Brewers have two legitimate first basemen who can slot into the lineup with ease, though Aguilar’s fielding has been a bright spot for Milwaukee’s less than stellar team fielding.

If there is one area of Milwaukee that leaves a lot to be desired, the starting pitching would be the most likely culprit. When you think of reliable starting pitchers, you would think of guys like recognizable faces like Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, and Chris Sale to be the anchor for the rotation. Milwaukee’s anchor is former Colorado Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacín and if that name does not exactly cause some excitement, then I would not blame you. Chacín’s best season came in 2013 when he finished 14-10 with a 3.47 ERA, so he leaves a lot to be desired. Add in the fact that he was the “best” starter for the 2017 San Diego Padres who went 71-91 and that should cause the alarms to start ringing. Really, the only Brewer starting pitcher who has done a serviceable job has been Junior Guerra, who has a respectable 2.83 ERA but not much else to bring to the table. Luckily, if the starters manage to not implode and the offense gets off to a hot start, then the real strength of the Brewers gets to strut their stuff on the mound.

Jeremy Jeffress has had three tenures with Milwaukee and has had three different jersey numbers and one common pitching trait: consistency

The bullpen of Milwaukee has been, to me, the highlight of their success. Their combined ERA is 2.73 which not only ranks 2nd in the National League behind only the Arizona Diamondbacks, but 2nd in all of Major League Baseball. Couple that with the fact that the bullpen has been responsible for winning 17 games, tied with the New York Yankees for the most in the majors, and you have a recipe for success as long as the starters have decent outings each night. Taylor Williams, Boone Logan, Dan Jennings, Jacob Barnes, and Matt Albers have all been fairly reliable for Milwaukee and Corey Knebel has bounced back nicely from a hamstring injury earlier in the season to regain his closer position. Josh Hader has been a revelation for Milwaukee, striking out a staggering 72 batters while posting a 1.22 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP. However, I believe that the most crucial piece to the bullpen puzzle has been Jeremy Jeffress.

Jeffress, the 16th overall pick in the 2006 MLB Draft, made his Milwaukee debut in 2010 and he had an adequate season but was included in a trade with Kansas City for Zack Greinke. Ironically, the trade involved Jeffress and his current teammate Cain, who was drafted by Milwaukee in 2004. While Cain prospered for the Royals, Jeffress struggled mightily and was released in 2012. After a brief tenure in Toronto, he ended up returning to Milwaukee in 2014 where he regained his ability to pitch effectively, eventually becoming their closer in 2016. However, in an effort to improve upon their team rebuild, Milwaukee sent Jeffress to the Texas Rangers for prospect Lewis Brinson that July. Unfortunately for Texas, Jeffress struggled again and he ended up getting traded back to Milwaukee last season. This season has seen Jeffress be responsible for five victories, tied with Robert Gsellman of the New York Mets for the most wins as a reliever, and a minuscule 0.55 ERA and a 0.77 WHIP. Considering that Brinson was traded to the Miami Marlins as part of a package for Yelich, Jeffress has helped Milwaukee’s rebuild in more ways than one.

Manager Craig Counsell was hired back in 2015 with the knowledge that a rebuild was going to happen and those first two seasons showed that the rebuild talks were not a joke. These past two seasons have shown that the rewards of persevering through those tough two seasons. Milwaukee has gotten help from unlikely sources and some recognizable names alike and they have kept pace with the vaunted Cubs thus far. It is only a matter of time until they are able to break through the walls and gain more national recognition because this group of Brewers deserve the praise.

From Hot to Not: The Misery of the 2018 New York Mets

One can argue this should be the logo for the 2018 New York Mets

The beginning of every Major League Baseball season always has some storyline that everybody’s attention for various reasons. This season is no different, capitalized by the Boston Red Sox starting out with a 17-2 record, the best start in the franchise’s long history. The following day saw Boston become the victims of the Oakland Athletics and starting pitcher Sean Manaea, who threw the first no-hitter of 2018 against them. The Red Sox have not let that hot start get the best of them and, as of this post, they lead the majors with 41 victories. The same cannot be said for the two teams in the National League, the first team being the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona started out winning their first nine series and came close to becoming the second team ever to win their first ten, the first being the 1907 Chicago Cubs. Despite a major speed bump in May, the D-Backs are back in first place in the NL West. The other team that started off hot but has had a much more miserable season has been the New York Mets.

Some could it call tough luck, some could call it poor performance, some could call it instant karma. The Mets started their season off by going 11-1, the best start in their franchise history and were the toast of New York. That, coupled with the 7-7 record of the crosstown rival Yankees, it seemed like the Mets somehow got their mojo going and everything would be smooth sailing. After all, they are in the NL East, a division consisting of the Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies. Then, the injuries started piling up and, as of this post, the Mets currently have 12 players on the disabled list due to a variety of injuries. Michael Conforto, Yoenis Cespedes, Travis d’Arnaud, Wilmer Flores, Todd Frazier, Juan Lagares, Rafael Montero, AJ Ramos, T.J. Rivera, Anthony Swarzak, Dominic Smith, Noah Syndergaard, Jason Vargas, David Wright, Kevin Plawecki, and Jacob deGrom have all been placed on the disabled list at some point during the season, so there is some wiggle room for a cause behind this horrendous followup to such a blazing start.

One of the biggest problems for the Mets has undoubtably been their bullpen. Of all the pitchers the Mets have trotted out to the mound that are strictly relievers, the only one who has done a semi-decent job has been their closer Jeurys Familia, who has posted a 2.25 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and 14 converted save opportunities. Compared to other closers in the league, those numbers are pretty decent, although batters are hitting .238 against Familia, so that leaves something to be desired. One can also make the argument that former starter turned long reliever Seth Lugo has also provided the bullpen with some desperately needed consistency, with a 2.21 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and batters are hitting .203 against him, the lowest against any Met who has pitched more than a game or two. Bonus points for Robert Gsellman, who leads the team with five wins but is okay everywhere else across the board. Unfortunately, those three are pretty much it when it comes to the highlights for the bullpen.

Jason Vargas, one of the main culprits behind the Mets’ pitching woes (Source: Getty Images)

The bullpen has not been the only area of weakness for New York. The Mets’ starting rotation, specifically the back-end of it, has been absolutely dreadful when it comes to helping the team win. Zack Wheeler has not been the same pitcher since his 2014 season, missing all of 2015 and 2016 and posting ERAs over 5.00 in 2017 and thus far in 2018. Meanwhile, free agent addition Jason Vargas, who made his first All-Star appearance last season and led the American League with 18 victories, has been a disaster for New York. He missed most of April with a fractured right hand and since coming off the disabled list, he has posted a putrid 8.53 ERA, a 1.83 WHIP and, perhaps the most alarming number, opposing batters are hitting .327 against Vargas. That is $8 million well spent, no? We all know the circus regarding former Met and current Cincinnati Red Matt Harvey, but in case anybody missed it, this should be a useful refresher.

The one main argument that can be made with regards to the struggles of the pitching staff can be that the Mets have virtually no offensive support and the numbers are not kind, to say the least. When it comes to the major statistical rankings for each National League team, the Mets are ranked near the bottom of every major offensive category. They have scored the second fewest runs, have the third fewest hits, tied for the third fewest home runs, have driven in the third fewest runs, and have the fifth worst team batting average. Granted, the Mets are tied with the Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals for having played the second fewest amount of games among National League teams, but both Philadelphia and St. Louis have managed to win more game than the Mets. This past weekend for New York was a testament to their lack of an offense, as the starting pitchers had a collective 1.88 ERA yet the offense batted .143 as a team. The 8.47 ERA by the bullpen did help either.

Brandon Nimmo, one of the few bright spots for the Mets thus far (Source: Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

That is not to say that it is all doom and gloom for New York. Jacob deGrom is somehow still leading the majors with a microscopic 1.49 ERA while allowing opponents to bat .203 against him. While the offense has struggled, second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera has been one of the few bright spots, leading the Mets with 10 homers, 34 RBI, and a .292 batting average while appearing in all but one game for New York. Also, while the countless injuries have hurt the Mets, they have also successfully opened the door for outfielder Brandon Nimmo to finally show the team what he has to offer. After starting the regular season either as a pinch-hitter, occasional spot starter, and even spending a few days in the minors, he has been one of the Mets’ main sources of offense these days. It will be interesting to see how Nimmo fits into the outfield once Cespedes returns from injury and reclaims his spot in the lineup back.

Yes, there are a lot of problems going on for New York right now, and there are plenty of injuries to take some of the blame off the team. That mindset can only last for so long, and the lack of run support coupled with the wildly inconsistent bullpen should be setting off some fire alarms for the organization. After all, this is a team that Sports Illustrated predicted would be a Wild Card team with 88 wins, so they have to figure out their issues in a hurry. I understand that there is still a lot of baseball left to be played, but New York is fourth in their division, with the only team behind being the Miami Marlins. That is not really saying a whole lot at this point in this season since everybody thought Miami would be abysmal this year.